Protectors
by Naasad
Summary: Who is the better big brother? Adam? Or Spike?
1. Prologue

It took a while for it to sink in. In the moment, he'd taken it as combat advice, but the smartest man in the world lived to dissect and analyze.

 _"Adam, help me!"_

 _"Look, I know you're pathetically weak, but can't you at least try to kick free?"_

Tired, frustrated, exasperated, bored, sick... There were many different ways to describe Adam's tone. Ashamed and disappointed..., those hurt the most.

So Chase did what he always did when he was hurt - he shut himself off. _Conceal, don't feel,_ he thought with bitter amusement, _don't let it show_. He built high walls and let his feelings grow, but no matter what, he would not cry. He would not be pathetically weak.

Anger was better. Anger was strong, anger was safe. Anger brought Spike - his protector. And so Chase retreated deep inside his own mind and let something else take over.

...oOo...

 _ **A/N: I swear, this story wrote itself. This was supposed to be a one-shot touching on forgiveness, sibling relationships, and personality theory. Now it is most definitely a combined Spike and depressed Chase story with probably some of that stuff later.**_

 _ **Wow. Okay. *waits patiently for next plot bunny***_

 _ **In the meantime, tell me what you think! (A lot of this is actually how I handle hurt, I'm realizing.) Constructive criticism is great! Flames? Not so much.**_

 _ **Namarië!**_

 _ **-River**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**WARNING: FOUL LANGUAGE (It is Spike….)**_

…oOo…

"What'd you bozos do now?" Spike demanded, stalking up to Chase's siblings.

"Spike!" Leo yelped.

"No freakin' derp, Sherlock!"

Adam and Bree shared a look. "What do you mean?" the girl asked.

Spike growled. "If I knew, I wouldn't be asking, Sasquatch!"

Tasha and Donald came stumbling down the stairs then. "What is with all the yelling?"

"Back off, old man! My beef is with them!"

Donald sighed. "Great. Good morning to you, too, Spike. Adam, Bree, Leo, what happened?"

Adam shrugged. "I don't know. He was sleeping when we woke up, and then he was Spike."

Spike spat on the ground. "Bullshit."

"Hey!" Tasha snapped. "You watch your language, young man! And don't you spit on my floor! Clean that up."

Spike gave a predatory grin. "Like hell, I'm gonna follow orders, crone."

Tasha opened her mouth, but Douglas cut her off. "Maybe he just woke up in the middle of a nightmare. The commando app is triggered by brain waves corresponding to negative emotions. Sadness, anger, fear, anxiety, depression…. It deactivates as soon as the brain waves are stabilized to excitement, satisfaction, peace…." Douglas shrugged. "It's complicated."

"I thought it was flight-or-fight," Leo said.

Douglas shook his head. "Too unpredictable. It would be triggered every time his body produced adrenaline and would be sustained until the adrenaline wore off."

"Huh?" Adam's brow furrowed in thought.

"Play some video games. Let him win."

"I can hear you," Spike snarled. "I'm not going away until I find out what happened to Chase, who did it, and make them pay!"

"Wow," Bree chuckled nervously. "You're really protective of Chase."

Douglas nodded proudly. "That's how I programmed him."

"Hm." Adam put a hand on Spike's shoulder. "I want to help you."

Spike snorted. "Yeah, right, Tiny McLittlebrains." He stood on his tiptoes and knocked on Adam's forehead. "You're probably the whole cause of this, anyways."

"How?"

Spike smirked evilly and threw Adam across the room. "Huh," he said, smirk fading. "That's not it." With that, he stalked out of the house, slamming the front door behind him.

"Adam," Donald said cautiously as the older boy got up. "Please go keep Spike out of trouble."

Adam nodded and jogged after the enraged Commando App.

…oOo…

 _ **A/N: I'm trying to write Spike as a sort of feral-man, with just one mission in life, but I can't tell if I'm going overboard or not.**_

 _ **Now, review responses! I don't usually do these, but first time for everything!**_

Asori _ **: Thanks for the advice! : ) So many times, I have to pressure myself into just writing instead of planning out the entire chapter in my head first.**_

ShyMusic _ **: Thanks, and, yes, I'm learning it does. : )**_

Somebody knows _ **: Here you go, hoped you liked it. : )**_

huoairbender1 _ **: Haha, thanks! : ) Here's the next chapter.**_

Dirtkid123 _ **: Yeah, poor Chasey. : (**_

daphrose _ **: EEEEEEEEEEE! Daphrose commented on my story! *clears throat* Ahem, I mean…. Yeah, probably too late for that. Anyways, thanks! : ) Means a lot to me that you liked it.**_

jvwollert _ **: Here's your update! : )**_

musewars _ **: Thanks. : ) I really do try to get inside characters' heads.**_

 _ **So… where do you guys think Spike should go next? Keep in mind, this isn't a school day – I don't know if that was clear in the chapter.**_

 _ **See you guys next time!**_

 _ **Namarië!**_

 _ **~River**_

 _ **PS, there is currently a poll on my profile concerning a change in username. It would be amazing if y'all could check that out, even if only to vote "no change". ; )**_


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